Dilution of refrigerant gases



May 9,l 1950 W. L. MORRISON DILUTION GF `REFRIGEIRANT GASES Filed April28, 1947 A n I MIEI -zvd rforsorb HZ' arri/Fys Patented Mayo, 195oUNITED STATI-:s "PATENT ortica 2,507,380 DILUTION OF REFRIGERANT GASESWillard L. Morrison, Highland Park, Ill. Application April 28, 1947,Serial No. 744,482

i (ci. 62-1) Claims. l

My invention relates to a safety valve and means for dilutinghigh-pressure, inflammable refrigerant gases used in connection withrefrigerating systems.

One object of my invention is to provide a relief valve forrefrigerating systems wherein high-pressure, explosive gases arereleased to the outer atmosphere.

Another object of my invention is to provide automatic means fordiffusing and diluting dangerous or combustible gases as they escapefrom a pressure system.

Another object is to provide means for simultaneously permitting theexhaust of combustible gases from refrigerating systems and the like,and the dilution thereof.

Another object of my invention is to provide a method of safelyoperating and valving off dangerous gases from a refrigerating system.'

Other objects will appear from time to time in the specification andclaims.

I illustrate myinvention more or less diagrammatically in theaccompanying drawing, which discloses a vertical section through thatpart of the refrigeration system which includes my invention.

Referring to the drawing, I show a, tank or receiver I, preferably partof a, refrigerating system the detalls of which are not illustrated, asthey formno part of the present invention. This tank containsinflammable gas such as propane or ethylene under pressure, as part ofthe refrigerating system, though, to be sure, the inventicn is equallyapplicable to any situation where gases under pressure escape, andsafety requires their dilution.

Another tank 2 is a receiver containing a smothering, inert diluent gassuch as C02. 'I'he passage 3 connects the receiver I with the pressurechamber E in a pressurestat housing 5. A bellows 6 in the housing 5 isexposed on one side to the pressure in the refrigerating system or inonly through the pipe 2I.

will raise the two actuating rods I4 and I5, slidably pivoted as theyare at I2 and I3, to the lever 9. This will open the valves Isa and I'la so that gas may simultaneously discharge from receiver I through thecapillary tube I8` and the valve housing I6 into the chamber 20, andfrom the receiver 2 through the capillary tube I9 and valve housing Ilinto the chamber 20. There the inflammable or dangerous gas will bemixed with the diluent or inert gas-and pass out innoculously to theouter atmosphere or to any other suitable point of disposal through thepipe 2 I, the stuillng boxes 22 encircling the members I4 and I5insuring that the mixed gases will be discharged 26 is a compressorwhich discharges refrigerant through a condenser coil 21 to the receiverI. The refrigerant leaves the receiver i through the conduit 30,-evaporator 3I, pipe lil to the compressor.

The use and operation of my invention are as follows:

In the use of refrigerant gas such as propane and ethylene, there isdanger of serious fire or explosion if the gas is exhausted withoutbeing diluted. As` it is necessary to let out some of the gas when thepressure in the condensers or compressors goes beyond a predeterminedsafety point, it was necessary to devise a means of diluting theinflammable gas purposely emitted from the safety valve beforeexhausting it to the outside.

the receiver I, and on the opposite side is exposed to the atmosphere orto some other pressure independent of the refrigerating system orindependent of the pressure in the receiver I.

When the pressure in the receiver I for any reason whatever exceeds apredetermined point, that pressure applied to the bellows 6 willcompress tne spring and raise the rod 8 upwardly, the rod 8 beingconnected to the lever 9 by the connector I0, and will cause the lever 9to rotate in a clockwise direction, the lever being pivoted at Il on asuitable ilxed abutment. Raising orrotatinginaclockwisedirectionoftheleverl With my invention, as thepressure in container lI rises it will be the same in space l where itwill compress the bellows 6. This compression will lift the shaft 8which in turn will move the rod 9 upward, pivoting on pin II. Rods Iland l5 are connected to 9 by means of pins I2 and I3. As the rods I4 andI5 rise they open the valves I6 and Il at IGa and Ila, thus allowing theinfiammable gas in tank I' to be metered through coil I8 into space 20and the smotherlng gas in container 2 to be metered through coil I9 intothe space 20. In the space 2U the inflammable gas and the smothering gasmix so that the inflammability is counteracted and it is safe to exhaustthe gas to the outside.

In connection with a refrigerating apparatus of the type with which myinvention is intended to be used, normally the system is a closed one.and there is no escape of the refrigerant gases. butr there is alwaysthe possibility of failure of' some of the control mechanisms, in whichcase pressure might build up dangerously. So the safety valve must beprovided.

No additional pressure controls or mixture controls are needed, becausesince the pressurestat is set to blow oi at a predetermined pressure,all that is necessary is that the pressure in the receiver 2 bemaintained high enough so that a suiiicient amount of CO2 or otherdiluent will be mixed in the chamber 2l) with the refrigerant gas.Depending upon the type of diluent and the type of refrigerant, theproportion of diluent and dangerous gas may be selected, and so long asthe pressure in the receiver tube is high enough to give at least thenecessary minimum of diluent, operation is safe and satisfactory.

I claim:

1. In -combination a refrigerating system, a refrigerant gas containedunder pressure therein, a receptacle containing a diluent gas underpressure, a mixing chamber, conduits leading from the refrigeratingsystem and from the receptacle adapted to conduct the gases separatelyto the mixing chamber, a valve adapted to control the iiow of gasthrough each conduit, means responsive to increase in pressure of thegas in the refrigerating system, for opening both valves to causesimultaneous discharge of diluent and refrigerant to the mixing chamber.

2. In combination a refrigerating system, a refrigerant gas containedunder pressure therein, a receptacle containing a diluent gas underpressure, a mixing chamber, conduits leading from the refrigeratingsystem and from the receptacle adapted to conduct the gases separatelyto the mixing chamber, a valve adapted to control the flow of gasthrough each conduit, means responsive to increase in pressure of thegas in the refrigerating system, for opening both valves to causesimultaneous discharge of diluent and refrigerant to the mixing chamber,each of the conduitsleading to the mixing chamber including a capillarytube.

3. In combination a refrigerating system, a refrigerant gas containedunder pressure therein, a receptacle containing a diluent gas underpressure, a mixing chamber, conduits leading from the refrigeratingsystem and from the receptacle adapted to conduct the gases separatelyto the mixing chamber, a valve adapted to control the flow of gasthrough each conduit. means responsive to increase in pressure of thegas in the refrigerating system, for opening both valves to causesimultaneous discharge of diluent and refrigerant to the mixing chamber,a discharge pipe leading from the mixing chamber to a safe point ofdischarge.

4. In combination a pressure system containing dangerous gas underpressure, a reservoir containing an inert gas under pressure, a mixingchamber, separate gas passages extending from the pressure system andfrom the reservoir to the mixing chamber, valves controlling saidpassages, a discharge from the mixing chamber, means responsive toincrease in pressure in the system for simultaneously opening bothvalves to permit discharge of the two gases to the mixing chamber, andthe discharge from the mixing chamber` of a safe mixture of dangerousand inert gas.

5. The method of operating a refrigerating system which consists inmaintaining in the system a supply of refrigerant gas at high pressure,maintaining a supply of inert diluent gas, discharging the refrigerantgas from the system when the pressure therein exceeds a predeterminedpoint, to a mixing zone, discharging the diluent gas to the mixing zonein consonance lwith discharge of the refrigerant gas, then mixing therefrigerent and the diluent gas and then discharging the mixed resultantinert gas to atmosphere.

WILLARD L. MORRISON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the nie ofthis patent:

UNITED` STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,248,308 Rice July 8, 19412,341,268 Davis, Jr. Feb. 8, 1944

